Fading Away
by Claire C. Griffon
Summary: Rated PG for language reasons to come.What happens in the last epiode of Angel after the screen goes dark. Who shanshus, and does all of the group survive? CHARACTER VAMPING AND UNVAMPING. !COMPLETE!
1. Blinded By The Light

Disclaimer- I own nothing, except most of the ideas. If I did own the stuff, Angel and Buffy would not be off the air.

A/N- I wrote this for after the screen went dark on the finale of Angel. I was mad that it had ended so badly, and created my own ending. Please enjoy.

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Chapter 1- Blinded By The Light 

"You're supposed to wear that stuff on the inside Charlie Boy." Spike said, referring to the man's bleeding gut.  
Charles Gunn, usually just known as Gunn, ignored the peroxide-haired Vampire's comment and asked, "Any word on Wes?"  
"Wesley is dead." A blue skinned and haired woman jumped doen from the rooftops and lande beside him. "I am feeling grief for him. I wish to do more violence." she continued.  
"Wishes just happen to be horses today." Gunn said, rising from his place on a stack of crates.  
"You are fading, You won'y last more than 10 minuites at best." the woman said.  
"Then let's make 'em memorable." he said, answering her.  
Spike turned to the otherVampire in the group. In days long past, his name was Angelus. Now, though, he had regained his soul and went by Angel. "In terms of a plan?"  
Angel looked at the army of demons fast approching and answered. "We fight."  
"Bit more specific?" he exclaimed.  
Angel looked up and saw the dragon flying around and smiled slightly. "Well, personally, I kind of want to slay the dragon." he said. Then, his face grew grim again. "Let's go to work." Hefting his battleaxe up, he ran into the first wave of oncoming demons and monsters.  
Spike kept his eye on Gunn throughout the fight. When he saw that the black man was going down, he leaped over the throes of demons to help him. He grabbed a sword from one of the fallen, and started to hack away at any and all comers. "How you doin' over here Charlie Boy?" he asked him.  
"How long has it been sice the fight began?" he wanted to know.  
"Hang on a sec and I'll let you know." Spike looked over at the only female in the group. She was easily holding her won, which made sense, considering she was a demon herself. An old one at that too. "Hey Blue!" he yelled in her general direction.  
She dispatched the dozen or so demons she was fighting with ease, and appeared over by Spike and Gunn. "Yes?" she said. "And I am not 'Blue', as you so call me. I am Illyria, the god king..."  
"We know who you are Blue. Gunn here wanted to know how long we've been fighting."  
Illyria thought for a moment or two before answering. "we have been fighting for approximently a half of your hours."  
Gunn dropped to the ground, smiling as he did so. "Looks like you were wrong Illyria. I lasted more than 10 minuites."  
"And you're gonna keep lasting." Spike told him forcebly.  
Gunn smiled weakly through the pain."Don't worry Spike. You'll see me again. I'm like a bad penny. I always turn up."  
"You ain't dieing mate." Then, Spike made a decsion that he didn't like, but knew it had to be done. steeling himself, he bent down to Gunn's neck and started to drain him. When he was on his last dregs, spike bit his own wrist and held it up to the man's mouth. "Drink. Please." he said quietly. As Gunn started drinking the Vampire's blood, Spike cringed slightly, not liking the fact that he was turning someone. Still, it had to be done, so Spike quietly hid his revulsion.  
Meanwhile, in another part of the alley, Angel was still fighting strong. He pulled his axe out of the dragon's head and burind it in an oncoming Keikaith demon. It screamed, then went down, taking the axe with it.  
Angel looked around for signs of the others. Seeing Gunn on the ground and Spike and Illyria next to him, he raced over to them.  
"Is he..." Angel asked Spike.  
"No, but he may as well be."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Gunn was almost dead. To save him, Spike turned him." Illyria explained.  
"Angel, it was the only way to save him." Spike said, noticing the look he was getting.  
"We'll talk about this later." Angel said.  
Spike scoffed. "If we both make it through this. Look at it this way though. He won't ever taste human blood, so we don't have to worry about him going crazy."  
"But he doesn't have a soul either." Angel said after killing a few demons with Illyria's help.  
"I do not wish to interrupt such an arguement, but we are currently under attack. Perhaps time would be better spent in killind the attackers." Illyria pointed out.  
"Blue's got a point. If we hit dawn, and this still ain't over, I'll meet you back in the sewers."  
Angel nodded, then moved back to the fight. He picked up a sword from the fallen demons and started fighting with it.  
Illyria turned to Spike. "Go help your leader."  
"He ain't my leader." He responded sharply, but whet anyways. He made his way over to Angel, picking up two swords and a dagger in the process. "Be handy have Willow here right now."  
"I know what you mean. She could proably blast these guys into next year."  
"Think they're coming, the Scoobies?"  
"I don't know. Chances are they don't even know there's the Apoclypse going on right now." Angel said sadly.  
"Bet they do."  
"Then why aren't they here?"Angel shouted angrily.  
"Either they think we can handle it, they don't care, or they're on their way here now." Angel was silent. Spike's ideas did have merit, as much as it pained him to admit that. And Italy was far away...  
He was brought out of his reverly by being pounded into the ground by Spike. "What the hell was that for?" he yelled at him while gettin up. Spike pointed to a section of buliding that was where they had been standing only a few seconds ago. "You could've just said 'RUN'!"  
"Well, yeah, if I had wanted to. It was more fun this way though." Angel rolled his eyes and went back to fighting.  
Close to dawn, Spike, Illyria and Angel were getting tired. Gunn was still out of it, but he did show signs of stirring.  
"Angel! It's almost dawn! Where's the sewer entrence?" Spike yelled.  
"Down the alley that you came out of. I don't think we're gonna make it though." Angel motioned to the demons who were still coming strong to better make his point.  
"Don't think like that mate. Think of what those wankers did to Cordy!"  
Angel growled and allowed the demon to come to surface. Soon, he was clear of all demons. He yelled at Spike to shift into his Gameface, but saw that the Vampire already had.  
Although they were fighting the good fight, they were still losing. Everyone on the side of good was going down. Angel looked to the east and saw the sky lighting with false dawn. He made his way over to Spike, Illyria, and the still unconcious Gunn and said, "Big finish time."  
Before either could aske him what he ment though, there was a flash of brilliant white light. Everyone closed their eyes, and the two Vampires shielded their faces from it. When it faded away, the group opende their eyes in amazement.  
The alleyway was littered with the bodies of fallen demons and other creatures. At the mouth of it, a very large, and very dead troll lay. On top of it stood a young man, about 18, and a woman in her upper 20s, or lower 30s.  
Angel stared at them in amazement, as did everyone else. However, while Spike and Illyria stood still, Angel took a few hesitant steps forward.  
"Conner?" he stammered out eventually. "Cordy?"  
Conner smile the same smile that his father was famous for. "Hey dad. Cordelia thought she could help."  
"How... what...." he stammered.  
"Some chick named willow brought her back. She's on her way over hre right now with a load of other people." Conner said.

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Whatcha think?? Please R&R. 


	2. Welcome Back Cordy

Here's chapter two everyone. I just wanna take a moment to thank everyone for their reviews, and I never realized that Lindsey camong back was such a hotly debated subject. I'm not gonna tell who else I'mbringing back, but rest assured my Lindsey Hateing Friends, he's not coming back in this story.

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Chapter 2- Wlecome Back Cordy

"On their way here?" Spike said, regaining his senses. "Don't you think it's a bit late for that? I mean, the battle's over, and the sun's alomost up. In a few minuites, we'll be dust."

"Angel, do you still own the Hyperion?"Cordy said, speaking for the first time.

"Yeah. We can meet everyone there." Angel said after a moment of thought.

"I'll meet you guys there then." Cordy said. She was gone in a flash. Literally.

"Come on Peaches. Bet I can get ther before you." Spike said, starting to run.

"What about Gunn?"

Spike stopped dead in his tracks. He had forgotten about him. He walked over to where Gunn was and hefted himup. "I got him. He's my responsibility, seeing as how I'm his sire and everything."

Angel stared after the younger, and youngest Vampires. Never had he seen Spike disply such, well, **_responsibility_** for his actions. It amazed him to no end. He shook his head free of those thoughts. _Better to ponder such things when there isn't the risk of bursting into flames,_ he decided. He turned towards Illyria. "I'll meet you back at the hotel." She nodded in reply and went up to the rooftops. Angel went in the direction that Spike and Gunn had taken.

* * *

Walking into the hotel, Angel was amazed at how little things had changed since he was last in it. Cordy was sitting in what had been her usual seat behind the counter. Gunn was lieing on the couch off to one side, much the way he had after a long night. Spike was nowhere to be seen, but Angel wasn't going to complain. _Proably off looking for my blood stash_, he thought.

If he closed his eyes, he could still hear Wes talking in what had been his office. Upstairs, Fred was there as well, working on her newest theory or experiment.

He opened his eyes again and walked over to the counter. "Gunn woke up yet?" he asked Cordy.

"No. Spike came in with him only a few minuites before you did."

"Where is he now?"

"Sewers. He's going to the butcher shop to get some blood. He also said something about getting an Orb of Theusla or something. You know, to get Gunn's soul back?"

Angel nodded. "I'll be downstairs. Let me know when everyone arrives."

Cordy nodded in reply. Just as he reached the staris, she asked him, "What happened to Wes, Lorne and Fred?"

"Lorne is gone. Told us not to go look for him. Wes is dead, and Blue here is Fred."

"Fred's possessed?" Cordy exclaimed. "Then get her out of there!"

"We can't." Angel said softly. "Her soul's gone. Illyria's the closest thing we got to her now."

"Oh, Angel, I'm so sorry."

"What for?" Angel snapped. "You didn't do it." Then, he was gone.

"Don't mind ol' Broody Brow. He's just sore that he didn't single-handly beat back the demon horde." Spike said to Cordy. He put his bag full of blood on the counter. "You got a fridge here?"

"Oh, yeah. It's in the back room. Or, it was when I was here last."

Spike nodded his thanks and went into it. He came back out a moment later with a pint of blood in both hands. "One for me, the other for Gunn." he explained.

"Wait, Gunn's a Vamp? When did this happen?"

"Either this morning or late last night. Whatever time it was. I had to turn him to save him."

"I never realized that you could miss so much in just a few months. I didn't even know that you were working for Angel until I came back."

"Not workin' for him!"

"With him then. How did that even happen?"

"Flash-fried in a pillar of fire savin' the world. I appear in his ofice a week later as a ghost. Fred makes me corporal, and here I am." Spike explained. ((yes, i know that Fred didn't, but just go with it please.))

There was a thump behind him and both turned to see who it was.

"Where is the leader?" Illyria asked.

"Downstairs. Who the hell is the smurf?" asked Cordy.

"Cordy, meet Illyria."

Illyria looked at her fora moment then turned to face Spike. "She's a half-breed, like you."

"Hey! I resent that!"

"You're part demon? When and how did this happen?"

"I had visions, they were killing me, became part demon so I didn't die."

"That doesn't mean that I have to kill you now, does it Cordelia?" said a female voice from the door of the hotel. Spike's heart nearly started again when he heard a voice that he had never expected to hear again.

"Hey Buffy." Cordy said. "How's it going?"

"Oh, you know, same old, same old. Stopped the world from ending, changed ancient rules... You?"

"Brought forth the Beast, died, came back to life."

"Got you beat. I've died twice already." Cordy laughed at Buffy's remark. Spike, on the other hand, was inching his was over to the basement stairs, praying that no one would see him.

He made it, and took a mad dash down the stairs while yelling, "Angel! Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies are here!"

Angel was at the bottom of the stairs as Spike reached them. Nearly running into his grandsire, Spike was able to stp in time. "Eager to see Buffy again are we mate?"

"Aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, but..." Spike trailed off.

"But what?" Angel prompted.

"She don't know I'm back. I died, again, back in Sunnydale, and she don't know I came back."

"You never told her?" Angel exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"I didn't see a point in it. 'Sides, kinda hard to top an exit like that."

"So, as far as she knows, you're still dead.?"

"Exactly."

Angel sighed and grabed his shoulders. Being pushed up the stairs by him, Spike yelled, "What the hell you doin' you tosser!"

"Making amends." he muttered. With that, he pushed the younger Vampire into the open, and into the middle of a conversation about him between the Scoobies, and the A.I. group.

"Hi Buffy." he stammered out. She hadn't changed overly much since he had seen her last in sunnydale. About the only thing that had was that her hair was cut short again. "How's it goin?"he continued.

There was silence in the room as she walked over tohim. "You're alive?"

"Well, yeah, I am, so to speak anyways."

"How long?"

" 'Round 'bout a year."

She slapped him. Hard.

"Ow! Hey! What was that for?" he exclaimed.

"Why didn't you tell me you were back from the dead?" she asked.

"Andrew was supposed to! He said he would when we stopped over at your house in Italy."

"You were in Italy?"

"Andrew didn't tell you?"Angel asked.

Buffy turned on a quivering Andrew. Smiling sweetly, she asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You would believe I forgot?"

"No."

"Didn't think so." he mumbled. "Well, the point is that Spike's back, and the world's not going to end today." he said brightly.

"Come on Buffy. Cut Andrew some slack. Just be happy that we didn't lose anybody." Willow said. The final part of the sentence, _like they did_, remained unspoken.

"Well, what are we going to do now?"

"Whatever the hell me want!" Dawn said.

"Watch your language Dawnie!" Buffysaid sharply.

"She's right though. According to Wolfram and Hart, that was the final Apoclypse." siad Gunn, getting up from the couch. "Why am I not dead?" he asked a moment later. He saw Cordy standing there and pointed at her. "And why is Cordy not dead either?"

"Willow brought me back in all my Powers-That-Be glory." she answered.

"And you were dieing mate. I had to Vamp you to save you. So, really, you are dead. Just not in the final arrangemetn sense."

Gunn sighed. The irony of the situation did not escape him. Killing Vamps had been his life. Now, here he was, one of the very things that he had hated most in this world. "Someone get me some blood." Then, he added as an afterthought, "And some beer too. I need drunkeness to gat any of this."

"Here." Spike said, handing him a glass of blood. "No beer though. As a Vamp, you can't get drunk."

"Can't have everything in life. I mean death. You know what I mean." Gunn said, taking it.

Then, Spike turned back to the group who were talking amongst themselves once more. He cleared his throat and said, "I'll be upstairs is anyone needs me." He was up the stairs quicker than anyone's eye could follow, and there was the sound of a door closing.

The group turned back to talking, paying him no mind. However, as soon as she saw that she wouldn't be missed, Buffy was up the stairs as well, trying to figure out what room Spike was in.

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So, what did you think?? 


	3. Starting Over

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who has been reviewing this story so far. As I said before, Lindsey will not be brought back in this one, but I did come up with an awesome way to get him back in the game in another story. So, after this one, and it's sequel are finished, Lindsey will be brought back.

A/N- This chapter isn't a nessecary part of the storyline except for the last paragraph. So, feel free to skip aheadif you aren't a Buffy/Spike fan. It's basically them making up along with a few instances of name calling.

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Knocking on a door, Buffy said quietly, "Spike? You in here?" There was no reply. Cautiously, she opened up the door and peeked in. What she saw was a sullen Spike sitting (try saying that 5 times fast)on the edge of the bed in the room. Walking over to the Vampire, she sat down beside him on it. "What's up?" she asked. He ignored her, so she tried again.

"Shouldn't you be down there with the Scoobies? You know, celebratin' the whole fact that the soddin' world's not endin' and is all safe and sound again?" he snapped eventually.

"Proably, yeah. But I'm not. Know why?" Spike had an idea, a few actually, but he kept his mouth shut. He wanted to hear what she had to say. "Because I missed you. So did Dawn. After you were destrpyed saving the world, Sunnydale, and all of us, she and I found a private place and cried ourselves to sleep. We did so every night for a month."

"Why not after?" Spike heard himself saying.

"Becasue by then we were in Rome and we could we could cry in the open." Spike's mouth made a silent "O" as Buffy continued her narrative. "Every night, Dawn and I would sit and annoy Andrew by playing the Ramones, the Clash, and tons of other bands that we knew you liked in your memory. Eventually, Dawn went off to school again and stopped listening to the CDs. I still did though, even when she asked me not to. The only time I didn't was when she had friends over and I didnt want to embarras her. I still hummed them though."

"And the Immortal? When and where does he enter this picture?"

"A fewdays before you came to Italy actually. I met him at a work party and he invited me to dinner sometime in the next few days. After dinner, we went to this one club. I don't remember the name of it though."

"Misteque." Spike said quietly.

"The who?"

"The Misteque.That's what it was called. Angel and I saw you there."

Buffy's eyes showen with suprise, but said nothing about his comment. Her suprise was enough for Spike though. "The Poof said we were to busy to stop and say hi, and I didn't feel like a fight about it, though I ended up getting one." he replied to the unspoken question of why.

She only nodded, then continued. "Well, a few days after that, he stopped by again and invited me to his yacht."

"He has a bloody yacht. Why am I not suprised." he muttered.

"That's where he told me what he was. An Immortal."

"No, THE Immortal." Spike interrupted.

"Fine. THE Immortal. He asked me if I would consent to becoming what he is. I turned him down, and left him there. He never came around again. Then Giles called and said another Apoclypse was happening and wanted us over here."

"So here you are." Spike finished for her.

"And here I am." she agreed. Then, there was silence broken only by the beating of Buffy's heart and her breathing. "So, what's your story?" she eventually asked him.

"Angel touches amulet, I pop out as a ghost, I become corporal, and help save the world."

"That's it?"

"What? You were expecting a novel?"

"No 'I missed you', or what you did to remember me?" Her voice sounded hurt.

"I missed you, yeah. What sane person wouldn't after they met you? Just, after I saw you with the Immortal, I thought that you had moved on, and that I needed to as well. Not that I wanted to though. That was the furthest thing from my mind."

"What about before that? When you first came back?"

"Well, unitil Andrew showed up, I didn't know where you lived," then, he added quietly, "or if you even cared."

It wasn't quiet enough though. "Of COURSE I care!" she shouted at him. "Don't you remember what I said in the Hellmouth?"

"Sure I remember. I thought that was just, well, talk." he finished lamely.

"Spike, you're an idiot."

"Thanks for the compliment Slayer."

Then, once again, there was silence. Suddenly, on a whim, Buffy leaned over and kissed him. Suprised by her action, Spike didn't know what to do for a second. Then, his brain started working again and he kissed her back.

Buffy broke apart from him only after she couldn't hold her breath any longer. "What do you think about starting over? Us, I mean. From the beginning?" she asked.

"Like, when I first met you and tried to kill you?"

"After that."

"When I was your captive?"

"After you got your soul back."

Spike was enjoying himself immensly as he said, "When I was crazy and the First's puppet?"

She tossed a pillow at him and replied, "After all that too."

"So, basically, after my whole 'You're the One' speech."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Spike laughed. Someting he hadn't done in a long time. "Some beginning."

Buffy shrugged. "It works."

"Guess it do, don't it?"

"Yeah." she sighed. Before the silence became too unbearable again, Buffy spoke. "Since we're starting over and everything, I guess I'll be the first to say it. Spike..."

"I know, I know. I'm an idiot, and a pig."

"Well, not exactly what I had in mind, but those are true as well. What I was going to say was, Spike, I love you."

"Me too." He shook his head. "That caome out so wrong."

Buffy laughed. "I know what you were going for. I gonna go downstairs for a bit. Wanna join me?"

"No thanks. Not with the pirate and ol' Broody Brow going at me every chance they get." He noticed the pout appearing on the Slayer's face. "Ohno. Not the pout. I'll make you a deal though. Meet me up her tonight and tell me all about the Scoobies."

"I guess I can live with that."

* * *

Coming down the stairs, Buffy asked, "So, what's I miss?"

Xander Harris, her long time friend turned to answer her. Before he could say anything though, there was a piercing scream from upstairs.

Buffy and Willow turned to look at each other. "Spike!" they both yelled at the same time.

* * *

What happens next? Gotta RR to find out. And once again, I apoligize for the long time periods between posts. I'm busy with school. 


	4. Painful Prophicies

Now, don't you all feel special? Two chapters in the space of 24 hours. Why am I being so nice to all you, my readers? It's because I'm home sick.

Disclaimer- I own none of the foods or catchphrases here. Or the shows...or the characters...or...

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Chapter 4- Painful Phrophicies

"What room was Spike in Buffy?" Willow asked as she ran up the stairs ahead of everyone else.

"I don't remember. I think it was, like, 304." Buffy replied hurrying up behind her. She turned to the gang that was just staring at them. "Well?"

There was a mad rush to get up the stairs. Buffy found herself next to Angel on the way up.

"Any clue on what might be wrong?" she asked him.

"I have a few ideas." he replied grimly.

"Care to share?"

"Not really."

Buffy sighed inwardly. No amount of time could change the fact that she and Angel were still attracted to eachother at somepoints, but it was times like this, when he was being the biggest asshole in the world, that she just really wanted to stake him. She closed her mind off of said thoughts and tried to focus on the task at hand as she reached the room she had been in only minuites ago.

Walking inot it, she saw Spike lieing spread-eagle on the bed. Willow Rosenburg, lovingly referred to as the most powerful Wiccan in the Western Hemisphere, was sitting next to him. She moved over to make room for Buffy as she approched her. "Any clue on what happened?" she asked Willow.

"No. I came in here, and he was like this."

"Well, at least we don't need to see if he's dead." Xander joked. Everyone stared at him. "What?"he exclaimed.

"Check for a pulse." angel said wuietly."

"What for?" Glies asked. "Spike is a Vampire. He won't have one."

"Just do it, please Buffy."

She rolled her eyes, but did it anyways. Placing her fingers on his neck, she held theme there for a few seconds. "Nothing." she told them all.

"You're not taking it the right way Buff." Willow said.

"Then it's up to you Dr. Willow." Buffy joked with her.

Willow took his wrist in the palm of her own and gently pressed down on it with the other. Within a few seconds, her eyes widened with shock.

"What is it?" Buffy asked anxiously.

"Spike. He's. . . alive."

"But, that's not possible." Dawn said. "He's a Vampire."

"The Shanshu Prophecy." Gunn said entering the room.

"The who? Is this some new brand of shoes that I haven't heard about yet?" Buffy, asked, seriously confused.

"Charles is right. It looks as though the Shanshu Prophecy has come to pass. On Spike no less." Giles said.

"Was this prophecy not about Angel?" Illyria asked.

Giles took off his glasses and started to polish them as he explained the prophecy to the room."Well, the prophecy only stated 'a Vampire with a soul'. It never actually named Angel specifically as to the reciepent of it. Originally, we did al think that it was Angel, seeing as how he was the only Vampire with a soul in this dimension, and, quite possibly, all of them."

"And then Spike comes along and screws up the whole entire thing." Xander said.

"To put it bluntly, yes. That is exactly what happened. Now, no one is, or was really sure over who the prophecy is pretaining to anymore."

"Ummm...That's not nessicarly true." Cordy said. Everyone turned to look at her as she spoke her piece. "Once I died, I became a full-time Power-That-Be. As one of them, I had full access to all the prophicies, and not just the 10 year-old's book report version either. That meant that I could learn about who the phrophices were about."

"So, you knew this was going to happen?" Angel asked her.

"I did, before I came back. Then, all of those memories and things I used to knew flew out the window."

"Well, that sucks." Xander said.

"No kidding." Buffy said. She turned back to Giles. "So, what did these shoes say about the Vampire with a Soul?"

"Shanhu, Buffy." Willow corrected her.

"Whatever Will. You got a better mind than me for that kind of stuff."

"It...well, it stated that after the final apoclypse, they would become mortal again in return for all the good they did in the world." Giles explained.

"Then how come Spike is human?" Xander wanted to know.

"He sacrificed himself to save the world Xander. If that doesn't count as good, I don't know what does." Andrew said.

"Angel did too guys. More than Spike proably ever did. He has his soul longer too. If anything, Angel sould be the one on the recieving end of this whole thing, not Spike. What makes him so special?"

"There is another prophecy that pertains to the Shanshu prophecy as well." Giles said.

"Another prophecy? What is it about?" Illyria asked.

"It's called the, uh, Ruesela prophecy." Giles said.

"Ruesela? Never heard of it." Angel said.

"I'm not suprised. Most haven't. It's very old, the original predating the written language. It states that the Vampire will procalim his love for the Slayer, she will do likewise, and then the Vampire will die. Although, that still doesn't help very much considering this happened to both of you."

"Hello. I'm still alive over here. Or, at least I am for the sake of this converstion." Angel said.

"Yes, but you became Angelus, basically killing Angel in the process. Spike did as well, and ended up dieing in the Hellmouth."

Instantly, Buffy was sent back to the day when Spike gave her his "You're the One" speech. She still remembered most of it word for word.

* * *

"Hey, look at me." he said gently, reaching up to touch her cheek softly. "I'm not asking you for anything. WhenI say I love you, it's not because I want you, or because I can't have you. It's not about me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you and I understand with perfect clairity exactly what you are. You're a helll of a woman." he said. Then, he spoke so softly that she almost couldn't hear it, "You're the One, Buffy."

"I don't wanna be the One."

He laughed slightly. "I don't wanna be this good-looking and athletic. We all have crosses to bear." She finally smiled and laughed quietly to herself. "You get some rest now. I'll check in before first light." he said, getting up.

When he was almost at the door, he heard a quiet, "Spike, stay with me?"

He turned around and nodded. Throwing his jacket over the back of a chair, he said, "the mother of all torture-devices, the comfy chair do me fine."

"No, here." she said, moving over slightly. "Will you just, hold me?"

He walked over and sat down on the bed next to her. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and he rested his on top of it. They sat like that for the rest of the night, Buffy finally falling asleep as the sun rose.

* * *

"Buffy! Buffy!" Giles' voice broke her out of her memory. "Do you agree?"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't listening. Agree on what?" she resonded.

"That these truly painful prophecies have come to pass."

"Oh. That. I'm not really sure."

Willow sighed. "Neither are we."

"If Lorne was here, we could have Cordelia sing for him." Illyria said.

"Or not. Last time that happened, Wolfram and Hart sucked the info right out of his head, and I turned into the big bad." Cordy said.

"We could just as well have Spike sing for him too. And that would be a sight to see." Gunn said, offereing his opinion to the group.

The original Scoobies were seriously lost though. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up for a second here. Who the hell is Lorne, and why are we singing for him?" Buffy demended to know.

"Lorne is the Host." Illyria explained simply, as though that would answer all questions.

"What's a Host?" willow asked.

"Someone who throws a party?" Xander suggested.

"Actually, the Host is a demon who can read people's auras." Andrew explained.

"And you know this how?" Xander asked.

"Watcher training." Andrew replied smugly.

"Andrew." Buffy said.

"What?"

"Shut up."

"No."

"Do you want to keep your body intact?"

"Shutting up."

"Thank you." Buffy daid. She got up and walked over to Giles and Angel. "What now?"

"I guess we wait for him to wake up and feed him." Angel said coldly.

"What? McDonalds?"

"Actually, Angel does have a viable point. We, and Spike, will need to eat, and McDonalds did seem to be the closest thing when we entered Los Angeles." Giles said.

"If it's still standing." Gunn said.

"Pessimistic a bit?" Dawn told him.

"You would be too if you had almost died, became a Vamp even though you hate their guts, current company excluded, one of your friends has died, and an apoclypse has just taken place. I think I've earned the right to be pessimistic if I want to be. And if there is a McDonalds still standing, then I'll run around in a circle like a chicken with it's head cut off."

"You mean a chicken nugget." Andew supplied. His comment made everyone laugh, which lightened the mood in the room considerbly.

"Hey, last time I checked, didn't it saw that it was always open?" Cordy asked.

"I think that's Denny's but you're still close."Gunn said.

"I don't think it mentioned anything about apoclypses though." Dawn said while laughing.

"It;s still there." Conner said, walking into the room holding at least three bags full of McDonalds food. "I come bearing food." he said, holding them up.

"FOOD!" Dawn screamed as she all but launched herself at him to get at it.

"Dawn!" Buffy said sharply. Then, she smiled, which caused her expression toextremely soften. "Save a salad and some fries for me."

"Oh, yeah. Now that's healthy." Willow said sarcastically. "Toss me a burger!"

"And you're yelling at me!"

"Soup for me please." Giles told him.

"No soup."

"Oh dear. I guess I'll suffuce with a Big Mac."

"INCOMING!" Xander yelled as a burger sailed over his head towards Andrew.

A while later, sfter everyone was bust munching on their meal, and the garbage had been tosses, Angel motioned discreetly to Cordy. "Outside." he mouthed to her. She nodded and followed him out of the room.

As soon as they were out in the hallway, and before Angel could say what he wanted to say, Cordy started on one of her apoligizing rants. "Oh Angel! I'm so sorry. I know how much you wanted your humanity back." she told him.

"Cordy, it's fine. I'm fine." he lied to her.

"No, it's not. You deserve it **so** much more than Spike. Besides, you've been fighting for redemption longer than he ever has."

"Don't I know it." he muttered quietly. Soon, Cordy ran out of things to say, as did angel. They were left in a comfortable silence, broken only by the beating of their hearts.

_Wait a second. Our hearts? Angel's doesn't beat..., _Cordy thought. She looked up at the ex-Vampire and saw the suprise on her face mirrored bt his. He touched his hand to his left side, not believing what he was feeling. Then, abruptly, he fell over onto the ground with a thump.

"Uh, guys? I think we got a problem here!" Cordy yelled.

* * *

Bum-bum-bum. So, hate me now? Just for your info, the next chapter is 11 pages long, handwritten, so it will take a while to put up. Oh! And the two stars up by the name of the second prophecy? That's for down here for the pronuctiation of it.

Rue-sa-la

I hope you enjoyed. And now, for a shameless plug for another one of my stories...

If you haven't read it yet, check out the story entitled "One More". It's bound to keep you laughing out loud until I can get up the next chapter.


	5. One Of These Things Is Not Like The Othe...

First off, I want to thanks everyone for their reviews. This is the first story that I've really gotten some major reviews for. So, thanks a bunch. There will be a section in this chapter that sounds a little choppy. This is because I had people asking me for more on Gunn being a Vamp, so I added. Sorry if it comes out bad.

Finally, this chapter swiches off between Spike's POV and Angel's POV. It also discloses who is to remain human. There is actually a lot of symbolism in it, and if you would bear with me until after chapter 7 (the final chapter), I will explain it if you do not get it.

That's it then. On with the story.

* * *

Holding half a burger in one hand, Conner came out of the room to see what was wrong. He found himself staring at his dad on the ground, and Cordy looking at him. "What did you do to him?" he growled.

"Nothing!" Cordy said.

"Conner, is everything alright out here?" Xander asked as he came out of the room. "What the hell happened here?" he exclaimed, looking at Angel on the ground with Cordy and Conner having what looked like a staring contest.

"That's what I want to know." Conner stated.

"Buffy! Giles! Willow! You had better get out here!" Xander yelled.

"What the hell happened here?" Buffy said as soon as she came out into the hall.

"Exact same words I used." Xander mentioned.

Willow turned to Cordy, her irises no longer visible as her eyes became completly black. "Explain." she ordered.

"We were talking, and all of a sudden, his heart starts up, and he falls over."

"From shock I expect." Giles reasoned.

Buffy hefted up the ex-Vampire and said, "Let's get him to another room." Then, she yelled into the room with Spike in it, "Dawn! Andrew! Watch Spike. Rest of you, come with me."

Gunn and Illyria came out of the room, and closed the door behind them. Illyria started off with the group, but Gunn went towards the stairs. Noticing that he was no longer behind her, Illyria asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm hungry."

"You just ate."

"Not that type of food Illyria."

Illyria nodded. "I understand. I shall inform the rest of our group as to your whereabouts."

"Thanks." he said as she walked away. Then, he turned to go down to the lobby area. Before he could though, there was the noise of a door opening behind him, and he saw Dawn's head poke out. "Hey." he told her.

Startled, Dawn looked over at him, but relaxed when she saw it was just Gunn. "Hey." she responded. "Where you going?"

"Food."

"Mind if I come along?"

He shrugged. "Suit yourself."

The two walked down to the kitchen in silence. As Gunn warmed up a glass of blood, and Dawn made a sandwich, she asked him, "So, what's it like?"

"What?"

"What's it like? Being a Vampire after killing them for so long?"

"Honestly, it's a pain in the ass. I feel like I'm betraling the memonry of my sister. When she was turned, she almost made me one of them, and I staked her because of it. But now, here I am, the thing that I hate most in the world. It's all really come full-circle here. Human, to Vampire killer, to Vampire. Not exactly the path I was planning on taking when I signed up for this gig."

"Gotta be rough." Dawn stated.

"You have no idea." Gunn sighed. "It's like the PTB are saying, 'hey Gunn. You've done a lot for us, and now we're gonna turn you into a Vampire just because we can.' When Spike told me, I was seriously complentating just running outside into the sunlight, and just lettin' it all go. But I didn't. That's the cowards way out, and I ain't no coward. I bear with it, and hope that there's a prophecy about me becoming human again out there too. About all I can do." Gunn was silent after that. In just those sentances, he had summed up all his feelings, and told them toa 17 year old girl, who had proably seen more horrors in Sunnydale, than he had in the last year. He turned to look at her and said, "Look, I'm sorry I told you all that. You don't need to be burdened with my worries too."

"Gunn, it's fine. I've learned to deal. When we had 20 girls in our house at the same time, everyone kep coming to me with their issues. I can take whatever life throws at me." Dawn told him.

"If I had had your intelligence when I was your age, I proably wouldn't have ended up where I am today." He told her.

"The question you have to ask yourself though," Dawn said as she turned to leave, "is that a blessing, or a curse?"

* * *

"Why are we always stuck on Spike Watch?" Dawn asked Andrew as she entered the room.

" 'Cause we're the youngest."

"Correction. You're the youngest. I'm 17."

"Actually, it's more like 4."

"What?"

"Look, you appeared when you were 13, right? Well, you're 17 now, so that makes you technically 4."

"Still, I'm tired of doing this. I want to be the one out there fighting demons and killing evil things."

"So, become a Watcher." Andrew suggested.

"Hell no. I don't wanna just watch them fight. Or train them for that matter."

"Lazybums."

"Yep, and damn proud of it."

"Language Dawn!"

"Buffy ain't here, so I can say whatever I want."

"What if I tell her?"

"You wouldn't!" gasped Dawn.

"Oh..." Andrew started, but was quickly stifled by Dawn placing her hand over his mouth. This all quickly disnigrated into a furious wrestling match. It was immedialty stopped though when Spike moaned feverishly and rolled over.

"Do you thinks he's alright?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know."

"Thought Watchers were supposed to know everything."

"We are, but I'm not a full Watcher yet, just an Observer." He smiled weakly at the joke he had made. Dawn caught it, and smiled back as well. Then, she turned back to Spike.

"It would help if we knew what was going on in his mind." she said.

"I know." Andrew sighed. "I know."

* * *

**_Spike's POV_**

Where am I? Who am I? My eyes open. All I see is blackness. Then comes the light. It blinds me. I try to shout, "Stop! Please!", but nothing comes out. The light is getting worse. I can't see at all. It burns my eyes like fire, and my body as well.

There is a path through the wall of light. I run towards it, only to be seared by a shower of fire that rains down upon me. It burns so much. How it hurts!

Suddenly, it stops. I am back where I started. The cycle of pain never stops. Confusion, light, fire, burning, confusion, light, fire, burning, confusion...

Angel is lucky he doesn't have to go through this. I stop moving. I don't know where that name came from. Who is Angel?

I'm back at the beginning again. What is happening to me? Am I alive, or amI dead? Is this a dream? Or worse, hell? The light comes again. I do not run. I embrace the pain as a release from the confusion.

The light is gone. I wait patiently for it's return. It never comes. I walk in the darkness. There is a light up ahead. I run towards it. Then, I stop. Light means pain and suffereing. I back away from it. I turn the other way.

There is a scream from behind me. I turn to find out where it is coming from. _Light_. A small voice in my head tells me it's from the light. NO! No more voices! I don't want to be crazy! I rock back and forth. "Stop! Stop!" I yell out. They do not. _Light! Light! Light!_ They keep whispering to me.

I have no choice. Either I will die from the voices, or die from the light. Light is the quicker death. I run towards it. There is a girl laying dead in a pool of blood. I am too late. I start to cry. There is a noise. I look up. The thing that killed the girl is standing there. It wears all black, a trench coat and boots. It has platinum hair and cold blue eyes. I look at myself. The thing is me. I am that monster.

No! I can't be. I never killed anything! I am William! I am William!

* * *

**_Angel's POV_**

My eyes open. All around me, there is light. I look up. The sun shines down upon me. Why am I not burning up? Am I human?

I am confused. Then the light goes out. I am left in darkness. Red eyes glint out from it. They surround me, and I am scared. There is a growl from behind me. I turn. A thing steps out into the small circle of light that surrounds me. It has horns and scales. What is it? The things jumps at me, screeching. I try to scream, but nothing comes out. I am left in silence. I run away from the things. Others come after me. I can't escape. They bring me down, and kill me.

The light is back, and I am confused again. Should I not be dead? Am I going crazy, or am I dreaming? I start walking through the light. Grass appears beneath my feet. Then, toumbstones pop up out of nowhere. Enter the darkness.

I stumble oover a half buried gravestone. I fall into an empty hole. Suddenly, a hand grabs me around the throat. I fight for air. I can not get any. I am going to die again. I don't want to die!

Then, I realize that I don't need to breath. I relax and let the thing attatched to the hand believe I am dead. I attack. Soon, it is dead. The smell of blood fills my nose.

_Who am I? What am I?_ I look at the gravestone. There is blood spattered all over it. My blood. I wipe the name free of it. "Liam." I read. There is no last name. I do not know who I am, so I will take this name for myself. At least, for now anyways, until I find out what I truly am. I shout it out to the sky above. "Liam! My name is Liam!"

* * *

"He moved!" Cordy gasped.

"Yes, but barely." Giles said. "I don't think he awake quite yet though."

"Do you suppose he is dreaming?" Illyria asked.

"Whyfore?"

She cocked her head slightly to the left as she replied. "He is mortal. Is that not what you mortals do when you sleep?"

"Well, yeah, but I dunno if Angel can. I mean, he hasn't in, like 200 and some odd years. Does he even know how to?" Xander said.

"Vamps dream. I can vouch for that." Gunn said, coming into the room.

"So, we've determined that Vamps can dream. Anything else?" Conner asked.

"What they dream about?"

"Death, destruction, killing. The usual things that a Vampire does. Although, in Angel's case, it was most likely the death and destruction of demons and saving the helpless I surmise." Giles said.

"And now, what he's going to do now that he's human again." Willow supplied. She turned to Buffy. "Think Spike's dreaming about humanity too?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Spike's strange like that."

* * *

**_Spike's POV_**

"I am William...William." I pant.

"Keep telling yourself that." says a voice. I turn around, still kneeling on the ground. The girl who was dead was standing, and speaking to me.

I start to rock back and forth. "No crazy. Not crazy. Just ignore the voices. I'm not crazy. Not crazy. Ignore the voices."

"Stop already, will ya?" she commands. I do. "Thank you." Then, she tells me, "Get up." I stand. "Do you know what killed me Spike?"

Spike? Who is she talking to? My name is William. I tell her so. She laughs. "That is your name, yes. But you go as Spike. Everyone calls you that. Do you know what killed me?" she whispers.

"I did." I stammer out.

"No. The monster inside of you did!" she hisses.

Monster inside of me? There is none. I turn and run away. This girl scares me. I hear her calling out. "You can run from me, but never from yourself. Even when you're human, Spike!"

"My name is William. My name is William. William. I am William. I am William." I pant as I run.

* * *

**_Angel's POV_**

I say my name again. "Liam." It is an intresting name, but I don't know if it's mine.I say it again. "Liam." It is a human name. Should I use it anymore? I don't know if I'm even human. I don't need to breath, but humans do. Am I human?

"Do you wish to be?" says a voice from behind me. I turn to face the speaker. I see that it a young girl. Her question confuses me. Moreover, why is there a young girl like her in a graveyard? "Look around Liam. There is no graveyard."

Can this girl hear my every thought? She laughs at me. "Yes Liam, I can. Now, look around."

I do. I stand in the middleof what looks like a library. It is full of both demons and humans though. Is this where I belong? "No." she says. "You belong nowhere. You are an outcast from both worlds. Neither man nor demon, living nor dead." Then what am I? She points in the direction of a bookshelf and says, "There you will find all your answers." I walk over to the shelf. There must be close to a thousand books here! I will not read for the rest of my existance. I walk back over to the girl.

"Always the impatient one Liam."

It is time to take the next step. If I am not human then... "Don't call me that." I say quietly.

"Why not? Is that not the name you chose for yourself?"

"It is a human name. I am not human."

"True, you are not. So, if not Liam, what will your name be?" I look around the library and see a statue. It is made out of a white material and has wings.

I point to it. "What is that?"

"It's a statue of an Angel."

An Angel. It is an interesting name, but I don't know what they are.

"An Angel is neither living nor dead, human nor demon. They are someting else entirely. Something that must be classified on it's own." the girl tells me.

It is not a human name. An Angel is much like me. Not wholly belonging in one space or another, but existing in them all the very same. Angel. That shall be my name.

"Very well Angel. I ask you your question once again. Do you wish for humanity?"

Humanity. The idea of truly belonging is appealing. But then, as I look around and see the many faces the humans have, I realize something. Humans get old and die. Death. A scary thought. Darkness forever. Those red eyes, glinting at me for the rest of eternity. That is not appealing. No longer do I wish for humanity. I do not want to die. "No." I tell her. She asks me why. "Because I am Angel. I AM ANGEL!"

* * *

"I AM ANGEL!" he shouted, sitting up on the bed abruptly.

Cordy was immediatly at his side. "That's right, you are."

"I'm not human." Angel continued.

"What you talkin' about man? Course you are. Heartbeat and everything." Gunn said.

"No, he...he's right. His heart. It...it's not...beating." Cordy said, shocked.

"Does this mean that we then must conclude that the Shanshu Prophecy is fake?" Illyria wanted to know.

"Not nessicarly. Remember, there is still Spike and the question of his humanity to be dealt with." Giles said.

Angel started thrashing about when his rival's name was said. Cordy let go of him, slightly afraid of being hit by his failing appendages. "Shit!" she exclaimed quietly. Everyone looked at her.

* * *

Spike bolted upright in the bed. "I am William!" he near shouted.

"Spike, relax. It was just a bad dream." Dawn said, trying to comfort him. It had the opposite effect though.

"Don't call me that! My name is William. Spike is the name of the monster inside of me!"

"William then. Just relax, ok? It was just a dream" Dawn said.

"He killed a girl. I killed a girl. No I didn't. The monster did. But I am the monster." Spike muttered quietly.

"Dawn, Spi...I mean William has gone crazy again." Andrew said.

" I would too if I had just gotten my humanity back. Just give him time to adjust to the fact that he's human again. Come on, he remembers all the shi...stuff he did as the 'Big Bad'. Wouldn't that make you go crazt too?" Dawn explained.

"Yeah you're right. Uhh... who's going to tell Buffy that he's awake?"

"You should. I know what it's like to find out you're one thing when you're used to being another. Plus, he knows me a bit better than he knows you. I can try and comfort him better than you. At least until Buffy gets here."

Andrew nodded. "Alright. I'll be back." Then, he was gone to find the room that everyone else was in.

* * *

**_Meanwhile, somewhere in New York..._**

A strange looking man got off the parked plane. He took off his sunglasses with his gree-tinged hands, revealing shocking red eyes. He wore a purple hat on his head as well, though as to why indoors was anyone's guess.

There was the ring of a cell phone from somewhere. The man reached into the pocket of his canary yellow shirt and pulled out a small, silver phone. Flipping it open, he began to talk. "Hello. Oh, hey Joe. Yeah, I just landed. Yeah. Hey, uh, listen, it might take me a while, but I'll be over on Broadway sometime today. Just looking out the window here at the airport I can tell the traffic is worse here than it was in LA. Oh, sure. Ok.Toodles."

He walked over to the luggage carosel and picked up two suitcases. The only reminders of a life best forgotten. He walked out of the revolving doors and hailed a cab.

"Radio City." he told the driver as he got in. Noticing the looks he was getting regarding his eyes and skin, he quickly explained them away. "These were the only type of contacts the doc had at the time, and I've got this horrible skin condition that really acts up during flying. The only way that it won't is if I cover myself with this green goop." The cab driver seemed to accept his explination and drove off.

"You new here?" the driver asked.

"Yeah. Came from LA."

"Welcome to NYC, Mr..."

"Lorne." the man supplied. "The name is Lorne."

"Welcome Mr. Lorne."

* * *

So, there you have it. The longest chapter in the story. Congrats for making it this far. Only two more to go. OH! And if you thought the dream sequences were kind of jerkily written, it's ok. That's how they were ment to be. Now, I did the hard part. You're turn now to RR. 


	6. Fading Away

Sorry for the long wait time people. I've been busy with a lot of Homework and family issues. But, hey! I'm BAAACCKKK!

* * *

Chapter 6- Fading Away 

There was a pounding outside the hotel room door.

"Should someone get the door?" Illyria asked.

"Yes, although I fear we are a bit busy at the moment Illyria. W..Would you mind answering it?" Giles asked, looking over at her.

"Answering it? This is not a phrase I am familiar with." she responded.

"He means open the damn door!" Gunn yelled at her.

"I see." She went over to the door and opened it up. "Yes?" she asked Andrew.

"I need Buffy. Now!"

Illyria turned back to the room and said, "The mortal Andrew seeks the one called Buffy."

"Give me a moment Andrew! I'm slightly busy here with Angel!" Buffy replied loudly.

Illyria turned to look back at the door. "Would you like to come inside?" she asked him, remembering the lessons Wesley had taught her about being polite.

"No thanks. I'm cool here."

"Very well." Illyria closed the door on Andrew's face.

"Buffy, if you want to go, I can watch Angel." Cordy said, walking over to her.

"Can you hold down a half-crazed Vampire or whatever the hell he is now?"

"Buffy, I'm the equivlent of a small god. If I can't hold him down, no one can."

"Alright. Knock yourself out." Buffy said, letting go of Angel.

Immediatly, he started thrashing about on the bed. "Just not literally though." Xander added. Cordy rolled her eyes at his remark. To think that she had once dated this man. To be honest, when she heard about the war going on in Sunnydale, she didn't think Xander would be one to make it out. Now, here he was, minus one eye, but here none the less.

She gently put her hands on Angel's arms and brought them down, effectivly pinning them to the side of his body. Then, suddenly, she glowed white. The, there was no other word for it, whiteness surrounded both of them, and he stopped moving. If Angel had been able to breath, it would've been peacefully.

"Ooookaaay. I think we've found someone with more power than me." Willow said.

"Don't worry Wil, you're still my favorite witch."

"Thanks Xan."

"If I'm not needed, I'll go see what Andrew needs." Buffy told the room.

"Oh, yes. By all means, go right ahead. I believe that we can take care of it all from here." Giles said, waving her towards the door.

She went over to it, opened it up, and stepped outside into the hallway where Andrew was waiting. " What's up?" she asked.

"Besides the sky? Umm... Spike's awake, and he keeps saying his name is William, and he goes psycho if you call him Spike. Something about 'the monster inside' " Andrew explained.

"Sounds familiar."

"What?"

"I siad, sounds familiar."

Andrew's face took on a look that rarely appeared on his face since he began his Watcher training: confusion. "Andrew, are you alright?" Buffy asked him. "You look like a deer caught in some car'sheadlights."

"How does Spike being crazy and saying that he's William sound familiar?"

"When he got his soul back, he kept saying how a monster had killed everyone, not him." Buffy explained.

"Isn't that when the First was controlling him?"

"Yeah, but we don't need to worry about that. The First is long gone." At that moment, they arrived in front of the room Spike was in. Buffy walked rightin and took a spot next to Spike and Dawn. "Wanna go get him some food Dawnie?" she asked her sister.

"Crap. I forgot that he needed to eat now." She cringed slightly after she said _crap_, expecting Buffy to yell at her. She was too busy with Spike to notice though. Dawn quickly left to room, pulling Andrew out by his shirt, leaving Buffy alone with Spike for the second time that day.

"How are you doing Spike?" she asked him gently.

Spike backed up against the wall as far as he could go and still remain on the bed. "Name is William. Not Spike. William." he said.

Buffy put her hand gently upon his arm. "Shh. It's alright. Just listen to me now. Yes, your name in William, but we all knwo you as Spike. Yes, there was a monster insode of you, but not anymore. You're human, and humans can't have monsters inside of them. So, when I call you Spike, I'm really talking to William. Soon, you'll be back to normal, cracking jokes, and comebacks."

"How do you know?" Spike asked her quietly.

"Two reasons. One, because this had happened before, and you got better. Two, because that's the man I fell in love with."

* * *

"Cordy, why can't I move?" Angel asked, suddenly waking us again. 

"You were going nuts and we all thought you were gonna hurt someone." Xander said. Everyone glared at him. "What?" he exclaimed. "It's the truth!"

"Xander, shut up. You're not helping." Giles said.

Illyria cocked her head to the left and asked, "Do you wish me to pull out his throat?"

Xander backed up against the wall, holding his throat. "Eeep!"

"I don't think we need to go that far Ilyria. Xander seems to be behaving himslf now, and if he starts not to, then I think we gotsome duct tape around here that we can tie him up with and let you have a crack at him." Gunn said with a completly straight face, so no one could tell if he was joking or not.

"Back to before though, why can't I move? I can't see anything that's holding me down." Angel said.

"Magick." WIllow said. "Good, old-fashioned, powerful magick."

"Did you..." Angel began, but Cordy cut him off.

"No. It was me. What's holding you down is pure power and the purest white magick you can find anywhere in the world since it comes from..."

"The-Powers-That-Be-Wrong-About-Prophicies." Angel finished sarcastically.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gunn asked.

"I'm not human. I'm still the Vampire Angelus."

"Are you really?" Willow asked him.

He rounded on her now. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Don't go all cryptic on me. I never liked it when I was completly awake and not coming out of a huge war."

"I'm serious. Do you feel anything different?"

"No."

"Well, I do. Your evil side, Angelus? It's not there anymore. You're 100 good Vampire."

"There's any oxymoron." Xander mumbled.

Willow hushed him with a glare and turned back to Angel. "You still have the demon in you, you wouldn't be Vampire without it, but you have your soul too. The best part- if something were to happen to it, nothing would happen to you. You wouldn't revert back to Angelus. You'd still be good old Angel." she explained. "Oh, and no pun intended with the 'old' part either."

"Well, now that we have determined that I am good for eternity, perhaps I can GET OFF THE BED!" Angel half-shouted.

Cordy closed her eyes a moment then opened them back up. "There. You're clear."

Angel sat up and closed his eyes a moment, trying to get his mind around all the stuff that was happening and had happedned. When he realized he only knew how he was feeling about everything, he asked, "I haven't really gotten a chance to talk to everyone since the Apoclypse. How's everyone doing?"

"Good, considering I'm a Vamp with no soul" Gunn replied.

"We'll work on that. Cordy?"

"Confused, and ore than slightly lost at everthing that's been happening, but it's getting better as everyone talks. I'll survive."

Angel nodded."How's tihngs in Sunnydale? Last I heard, you were about to be in the fight of your lives, and that was over a year ago when we first took over Wolfram and Hart."

"There is no Sunnydale anymore. It's kind of a really big hole now." Willow spoke.

"A hole? Meaning, no mall? The place that symbolized my life is gone! Noooo!" Cordy wailed jokingly. She had come a long way from the Californian bitch she had been.

"Can't say I'm amazed. Makes sense that the only way to destroy the Hellmouth was to destroy it. That where and how you lost your eye Xander?" Angel asked.

"Umm... kind of." Xander fingered the eyepatch on his left eye. "It was, umm... poked out by that evil preacher dude. I don't wanna go into it." he finished.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I don't go to church. Still, man that sucks. I can just imagine the depth perception you are stuck with." Gunn said.

Xander didn't reply. He had said all he was going to on the subject of his eye, of lack thereof.

"Willow, how have you been? Last time I saw you, I was Angelus. Hell, last time I tried to reach you, I could feel Angelus right there inside me, just waiting to come out."

"I'm good, actually. And sorry about the whole me being on the Astral Planes when you needed me. Things there were a mess, and needed to me sorted out before it erupted into a full fledged war that hurt witches everywhere."

"Saving two worlds. Gotta love it. What about Dawn and Andrew? They seem... they seem to be... uh... good buddies." he finished lamely.

"Umm, yeah. I think Dawn may have a boyfriend soon. They seem to be heading that direction anyways. Andrew's finished the majority of his Watcher training, and is only one step away from becoming a full Watcher." Willow said

"What's the final step?"

"Wearing tweed." Xander muttered.

"Contary to popular belief, it isn't!" Giles said sharply. "He has to be able to identify a Slayer on sight, withoout any previous knowledge of her whatsoever. Needless to say,"Giles sighed, "it could be an awefully long time before he's completed it."

Angel nodded knowingly. "Somehow, I'm not suprised. What have you been doing Giles?"

* * *

"And Giles has been helping to train Andrew and completing his library in his spare time." Buffy said. 

"Wow. Andrew and Dawn. He never struck me as her type. I pictured a nice, Roman lad, maybe on the football team. Do they even have football there?"

"Yeah. It's called soccer though. I know what you mean though. But if you think about it, they've know eachother since we held him hostage. It does make some sense that they would hook up eventually. Just look at us."

"You know what they say. Violence makes the heart grow fonder."

Buffy laughed as Dawn came into the room holding a sandwich. She handed the plate to Spike and said, "I think it's eatible. The mayo was green, so I held off on that, but the meat looked goos and the tomato wasn't mushy. The lettuce wasn't all wilty either, so I put some of that on there."

"Thanks." he said, taking it. He took a bite, and his face instantly lighted up. Like magic, the sandwich was gone. "That was ambrosia, bloody ambrosia." he muttered as he licked his fingers clean of every last crumb.

"Dawn, can you and Andrew go check on Angel for me?" Buffy whispered as Spike finished eating. Dawn nodded and left, dragging out Andrew, who was just entering the room again. "Enjoying yourself?" Buffy asked a contented Spike.

"Yes, I am actually. Haven't been able to taste food proper like in a long time. So, tell me about Faith and the Principal. Last I 'member, they seem pretty cozy."

"Well, the wedding's set for next week in Texas. I need to head out of here in the two or three days, maybe sooner. It depends on when everyone else is ready to go. And, I have determined that night flights are a pain to organize too." she added non-chalently.

Spike caught her meaning though. "Can I come with? I'm assuming you've got an extra ticket, and that you were kene on giving it to a Vampire, considering the flight's at night and all. Who better to have along than an ex-Vamp? Besides, I can't think of a better way to celebrate walking in the sun than by, well, walking in the sun.

"I would love to have you come along Spike." she told him. He flinched visibly at the name, but didn't back away or deny that it was him. They were making progress. "Want me to tell everyone that you're coming along?"

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that. Don't think it's go over real well, me saying 'Hi all. I'm human again, and comin' with you all for Faith's wedding'. Can you imagine the look on Harris' face? Then again, it might be worth the beating I'm sure to get just to get a glimpse of it..." Spike finished thoughtfully.

"Will you ever stop teasing him?"

"No, pro'lly not."

"Some things never change." she murmered.

"Buffy?" Dawn asked, peeking her head into the room.

"What is it Dawnie?"

"Angel's doing fine, awake and everything. Want me to tell them that Spike's up?"

"Would you? It would be a great help if you did."

"No prob. I'll stay there too. Give you a chance to get Spike up to speed."

Spike flinched again, but not as much this time. _Thank god for small things_, Buffy thought. "OK. I'll see you later then." Dawn nodded, then left the room.

"So, what;s up with Willow? Still the most powerful Wiccan in the Western Hemisphere?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, she is. She's more for the control though than the power now."

"Kudos to her. I think that's everyone, innet?"

"Umm... well, there's Anya, but..."

"Can't believe I forgot about her." Spike interrupted. "How's she doin'?" Spike asked, not sounding as if he cared in the least.

"Well, she's dead. Never came out of the school. Andrew said she took a sword through the gut."

"Oh." Spike simply said. There was silence for a moment or two until spike spoke again. "So, how's Peaches doin'?"

* * *

"Gunn?" Angel asked him.

"Yo." he replied.

"Do you know if there's any blood left?"

"Yeah, there is." Dawn said, entering into the room followed by Andrew. "Do you want some?"

"If it's not any trouble."

"None at all." She turned to go look at Andrew. "Go get blood."

Andrew sighed, rolled his eyes, then left the room again muttering profanites under his breath.

"Any word on Spike, Dawnie?" Willow asked.

"Actually, that's why I'm here. Buffy sent me in to tell you that he's awake."

"The half-breed lives?" Illyria asked.

"Yup. And he's halk-crazy too."

"No suprise there. He always was." Xander mumbled.

"He's gotten better though, so don't worry. He doesn't start going all psycho if you call him Spik anymore."

"Why would he do that?" Conner asked.

"He says his name is William. Or, rather, he did."

"William? Wasn't that his name back when he was human?" Willow questioned.

"Yes. It was. William the Bloody because of his bloody aweful poetry. Dawn, does that mean he's human again?"

"Yup."

Angel growled quietly and his nostrils flared slightly. He felt the demon inside fight for control of his mind, and it almost won. However, he fought it back. As soon as Andrew came back into the room though, that all changed.

As the smell of blood filled the air, the demon took over his mind and body. His face began to change to reveal that. He lept off of the bed and was over by Andrew faster than anyone's eye could follow. Baring his fangs, he sunk them into Andrew's neck, causing him to drop the glass. It shattered on impact with the floor and the blood seeped into the carpet. The few drops of blood that didn't make it into Angel's mouth fell to the ground as well and there they mingled with the rest. The stain of crinsom spread across the carpet like a snail inching it's way though life. IT took less than a moment for the attack to happen, and a moment more for someone to react.

"Cordy! Give me your hand!" Willow said to her. Willow took the offered hand and closed her eyes. When they opened again, her irises were gone, eyes completly black. "Vampiero, stoof sesoo! Seperatero!" she yelled, drawing power from Cordy.

Angel and Andrew were forced apart with a bright light. Willow and Cordy were laying on the ground, both unconcious from the powerful magick they had just used. Andrew was left on the ground, more of his likfe pooling out onto the carpet beneath him.

"Andrew!" Dawn gasped. She was over by his side a few seconds later, tearing a strip of cloth from her shirt to try and stop the bleeding.

Angel sat up from where he was in the corner. He saw Dawn helping Andrew to maintain a fragile grip on his lie, and Willow and Cordy being helped by everyone else. "Lord, what have I done?" he whispered to the room.

* * *

There's chapter 6 for you. And here's why there's a star after Willow's line. It's a little footnote that tells you to look down here to figure out how to pronounce it. So, here ya go. "Vamp-pyro st-hool bee-suu. Seper-ato."

I hope you enjoyed this. Ony one chapter left now!


	7. Never Gonna Fade

Well, this is it. With this chapter, the story's all over. Thanks to those of you who kept reading despite the long periods between updates. I hope it was worth it. I think it was. So go on, read the final chapter. I'll have some more things to say at the end.

Chapter 7- Never Gonna Fade

Buffy heard a crash and the quiet tinkling of glass breaking from the other room. Spike's head shot up and he said in sync with Buffy, "What was that?"

"I don't know. You?"

Spike only shrugged. He took a deep breath through his nose and said, "I can't smell any blood though." Buffy smiled and laughed slightly at his blood comment. "What?" he demanded to know.

"You're not able to anymore, remember? Human, not Vampire?"

"Balls. Knew there had to be a downside to this whole being human thing besides not living forever," Spike muttered. He clumsily got up off the bed and nearly fell flat on his face. Buffy caught him though, so he was able to salvage the small thread of dignity that he was so desperately clinging onto. He shook off her help and rose to stand on shaky legs. "Let's go see what the noise was then, shall we?"

"Can you walk that far?"

He smiled. The action caused his whole face to light up. "Won't know unless I try, now will I?"

* * *

When the two entered the room Angel was in, they were surrounded by complete and utter chaos. 

"Giles, did you call upon that Janus dude again?" Buffy wanted to know.

"No, I did not. Gave all that up a long time ago," he replied.

"Then what happened?"

"Buffy? Look down," Spike said quietly. She did and saw her feet were in a large pool of blood. Not that large pools of blood were new for her or anything. She jumped back and started wiping her feet on a clean part of the carpet. "Ewwww. Okay. Last time I EVER wear new shoes to an Apocalypse area," Buffy said jokingly.

"Whose blood?" Spike asked casually, as though this was an everyday occurrence.

"Mine," Andrew said from the blood soaked bed.

"What happened?" Buffy repeated.

It was Dawn who answered her. "Andrew brought in a glass of blood for Angel. He leapt up and attacked him. Willow and Cordy managed to break them apart, but only by using major magicks," she explained to her sister in a low voice.

"Why didn't anyone else do anything?" Buffy snapped.

"It went down in less than a second. There ain't no one able to react that fast, not even me. So give it a break," Gunn snarled at her.

"You wanna break? Name which limb and I'll give you one."

"Children, please," Giles ordered. "I would greatly appreciate it if you all calmed down as I'm sure everyone else in the room would. Everyone involved is going to be fine. Andrew has survived, as I'm sure you can tell. Willow and Cordelia are good as well. I myself have seen to that."

"What about the Ponce?" Spike wanted to know.

"Your Leader will survive," Illyria said. "His son is seeing him."

Spike went over to one of the few open chairs in the room and sat down in it. "So, what now?"

"What do you mean?" Illyria asked.

"Exactly what I said Blue. What are we going to do now? Cordelia's back from the dead and all, the world's safe and sound forever, and we found out who gets to be a real boy. What's next?" Spike elaborated.

"We had the same problem when we destroyed the Hellmouth. We ended up rebuilding the Watcher's Council and training all the new Slayers," Dawn said.

"But you still had the occasional Apocalypse to worry about. Now, there's not even that. We got nothin'. So, what we supposed to do now? Go and live normal lives? I haven't had even the semblance of one for as long as I can remember. I've kinda forgotten how," Gunn said.

"You'll never lead a normal life again mate. Remember? Vampire now. Go live with Blue or something," Spike paused for a moment before continuing on. "You know, someone should really write a coffee table book about this. 'What to do after the final Final fight.' I'm sure it'd be a best seller."

"I'll write the sequel. 'What to do with your life when the prophecy you thought was about you wasn't.'" Angel said entering the room. He saw Spike sitting in the chair and felt the demon inside fighting for control again. He fought it back though, and won this time. As long as no one brought any blood into the room, he would be fine. "Spike," he nodded to him as he said the ex-Vampire's name.

"Angel," he replied, nodding his head in turn. It was clear to the room that there really was no love lost between these two beings. More so now than ever considering that Spike was now human.

"Well," Angel said, returning to their conversation from before regarding what they were going to do now, "LA is still teeming with demons. Needs someone who knows the territory to start and finish the clean up job. I hear New York is just chock full of 'em too."

"I got LA. Been here all my life. Can't see no good reason not to spend my unlife here as well," Gunn said. "Besides, I'm more apt to find one of those Orb thingys that'll bring back my soul here."

"The Scoobies and I got a weddin' in Texas to attend. Most likely, we'll all be going back to whatever we were doing before," Spike said.

"You're coming with us?" Xander exclaimed. At Spike's nod, he said, "And here I was hoping to get rid of you."

"Are you two ever going to get along?" Dawn asked.

"No," they both replied at the same time.

Then Illyria broke in. "I shall remain here as well. Gunn may need assistance in fighting the demons here. I wish to use the faculties that the Wolf, the Ram and the Hart may have left behind as well to find a way to bring back Wesley." Caught completely off-guard, Gunn nodded his acceptance at Illyria's staying.

"Quick question here," Dawn said. "What about Conner? Shouldn't he have a say in all of this?"

"As soon as we're done here, I'm heading back off to collage. I want to finish that before I decide what to do with my life," he said as he entered into the room.

"I guess that settles that then. Only one thing is botherin' me though," Spike said.

"What's that?" asked Buffy.

"We just saved the world. Again. No one's gonna know about it though. We'll just fade away. Another bit of history that'll be forgotten because no one recorded it."

"Well, if I had my camera…" Andrew said. The room laughed, then the occupants drifted apart to go and pack their bags to prepare for a new life. One without the impeding threat of Apocalypse.

* * *

On the plane ride back to Italy, Spike and Buffy were talking about where he was going to stay. 

"Are you sure you've got enough room in that apartment of yours? I've seen it, and it's fairly small," Spike said.

"I know. But Dawn and I have been thinking about buying a house in Italy for a whole now. We have enough money saved up to buy a small, four-bedroom house on the outskirts of the city now. So, when we landed, we were going to head over to the bank," Buffy said.

Spike looked over at Dawn and Andrew, both blissfully asleep. Andrew had the headphones on so that he could listen to the in-flight movie, but they were slowly slipping off of his face. The movie was the original Star Wars too, so it showed how tired he really was.

He found his thoughts wandering to Willow, Cordelia and Xander, who were all currently under Giles' supervision in Texan, finishing up the clean-up job from the demon attack at Faith's wedding. He didn't know where Cordelia and Xander would be heading off to next, but he had heard Willow mention something about seeking out three major Witches who were living in the San Franscian area.

He turned back to Buffy. "Hey," he said as she turned to look at him, "remember how Gunn said that we would all have to live normal lives now?" At her nod, he said, "Well, he was wrong again. Our lives ain't never gonna be normal." Their laughter rang out over the entire plane.

* * *

Illyria was back in the Burkel persona again. Honestly, she didn't really know why she kept returning to it as she worked. It seemed to somhow be directly linked with her ability to think though. It was close to midnight, and Gunn was out making his usual sweep of the LA area as he looked for demons. Illyria was back in the small lab she had managed to find untouched by the final fight. 

She plugged the final equation from the whiteboard into the large machine in front of her and closed her eyes. Praying for the best, she hit enter on the computer beside her that would allow the machine to start up. Instantly, the room becaame as bright and as hot as the sun would have been had it been in the same room with her. Then, as suddenly as it arrived, it faded away, leaving a darker dark in it's wake.

Afraid that something had gone wrong, Illyria carefully opened her eyes. They were barely open when a familiar voice said, "Fred?"

For a moment, the Burkel persona wavered, her true form being revealed. It was gone in a second though. Still, it was enough for the new arrival to know who she was. "Hi Wes. I brought you back! Told you I'd find a way."

* * *

Stepping off the plane, a man in a worn leather duster walked into the bright lights of downtown Ney York at night. Carrying no luggage, he made his way over to a phonebank full of pay phones.

A conversation he had taken part of before he had left his home was still replaying in his mind. He was going to fade away. Fade out of history. Out of time. Fade into obscurity. After all he and his friends had done for this world, no one would rememberexcept them. He smiled thinly; it looked out of place on his face, like he didn't do it often. He pushed those thoughts out of his head and replaced them with a new one: Not if he had anything to do with it.

He walked over to an empty phone and dialed the operator. Asking for a name, the operator dialed that person and connected him. There was a moment or three of ringing before someone answered.

"Hello," sounded the voice at the other end.

"Lorne, it's me. Heard you were on Broadway now," the speaker said quietly.

"Angelcakes?" Lorne asked, not beleiving his ears.

"Yeah, it's me. We survived. All except Wes that is. I guess our demon god friend is going to try and bring him back. I don't know how well that's going to work out though."

"Sorry to hear that. So, you just call to tell me that much, or for a different reason? You still in LA?"

"Actually, no. That's Gunn's territory now. I'm outside the airport in NYC. I asked the operator for your number."

"Don't you have my cell phone?"

"Yeah, but I didn't know if you had it changed after you left."

Lorne laughed over the phone. "Still as sharp as ever, Angelcakes. So, why'd you call?"

Angel thought for a second on how to phrase his next sentance before answering. Finally, he said, "Lorne, I'm afraid. I don't want to fade out of history. I want the world to know what we did for them. I want the to know about the lives lost trying to keep the world safe for them. I want the world to know our story."

"So go write a book. I don't see how I could help with this."

"Lorne, I... I ... I want you to write a broadway play about it." Angel said quickly before he lost his nerve.

Lorne was silent. Then, he spoke, "Here's my address. Meet me here to tell me everything." Then he disconnected. Angel hung up the now silent phone from the hook in the booth and exited outside. There, he managed to flag down an empty taxi and gave the driver the address.

Sighing, he settled himself in the seat and allowed himself something he hadn't in a long time: A contented smile. This time, it didn't look at all out of place. If anything, it looked as though he should do it more often. _So, we're gonna fade away, huh,_ he thought. _Not if I have anything to do with it._ And he was right too, for they were never gonna fade.

* * *

That's all folks. Just a few more things I have to take care of.

1- I would like to thank all of you that submitted reviews to my story. They made me keep writing this long thing on the internet.

2- In the course of writing this, I came up with several different challenge ideas. So, now, I'll share them, and you can go ahead and respond to them if you want.

Challenge 1- Broadway Play  
I think we all know where this one came from. Still, there are a few guidelines for it.  
1-Angel and Lorne must first meet to talk about it.  
2-Tryouts for the parts must be held (and read about)  
3-Angel on stage is played my the actor, David Borenz  
4- Must write the entire thing on 5-Songs are not required (so, it donesn't have to be a musical), but it would be nice if there were some.  
6-Angel must find out that Nina is living there and the two can or can not hook up.

Challenge 2-Wesley  
This story is about what happens when Gunn finds out Wesley is back.  
1-Wesley is non-corporal  
2-Gunn can not kill him or Illyria  
3-Wes can not kill Illyria  
4-Illyria is refrained from killing anyone

Challenge 3- Weddin'  
Exactly what does happen at Faith's wedding?  
1-No one of the Scoobies can die  
2-Demons must attack at one point in the ceremony  
3-Faith and Buffy must work together to stop the demon attack  
4-Wedding must go through  
5-Buffy is bridesmaid

Ok. So, I really hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed typing this. There is a sequel that I am working on right now. It'll be called Willow in the Winds, and will be under the Buffy crossover section of the site. One last little tidbit of information now. When I first started to write this, I wasn't planning on bringing Wes back. But when I saw how much Illyria missed him, and how everyone else got the one thing they wanted (or close to it), I felt bad for her and had to bring him back. So, please excuse that part if it's a little akward. It was hard to write.

Once more with feelin now- Please R&R!


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